The
adjective "'global'" and the
adverb "'globally'" are synonyms of ''worldwide'' and mean of or relating to or involving the entire
world in the general sense or as the planet
Earth.
In the common parlance, it also is used as a
synonym of generic,
general or covering all
aspects of the real or an abstract world of interest.
From the
geo-political perspective, it is frequently consdered synonym of '
international'/'internationally' but this usage is not recorded in dictionaries and is usually considered incorrect.
★ "Global" implicitly implies the concept of a certain "
one world"
★ International is a broader term, in that it can refer to something involving all nations or as few as only two
nations, but, presumably, all must be potentially involved before it becomes truly global.
★
Nations are concerned primarily with
humanity's concerns, and that usually in a narrow time frame, whereas there are many global concerns that transcend species or generations.
Nonetheless, "global" has passed into common usage, especially in the
media,
academia, and the
business world, and among left-wing supporters of a "one world" concept. Many use this term in situations where "international" would clearly be the more appropriate term, as there are few things that are truly global (even the much-touted "global economy" for example does not include
Antarctica,
North Korea, etc.). Nevertheless, just as its synonym "worldwide", "global" is often appropriate when one wants to emphasise that something affects the entire world even if not all nations or all parts of the earth are directly included. For example, Antarctica and North Korea and even isolated jungle tribes are very strongly affected by the global economy even if they do not actively participate in global trade.
The usage of "global" is correct when referring to things which do involve the
Planet Earth as one single unit, for example: global maps, global weather patterns, global satellite photos.
----
Global can also mean
total or universal, as in the phrase "
global skepticism", which in
philosophy means that the
skeptic is skeptical about literally anything and everything, including their own existence, their own thoughts and experiences, and even the existence of an
objective reality (universe), i.e. of anything whatsoever. Other, non-philosophical usages have probably extended from this.
See also
★
Earth
★
Globalization
★
Glocalisation
★
Political
★
Racial
★
Social
★
Global village
★
World community
★
World government
★
★
Global politics
★
Global warming
★
Global city